Australian property commentators have lined up to slam predictions made by a US real estate analyst that property prices here are set to dive by as much as 60%.

Australian property commentators have lined up to slam predictions made by a US real estate analyst that property prices here are set to dive by as much as 60%.

Jordan Wirsz, who has been promoting a webinar on Australian property, has predicted that rising interest rates, peaking commodity prices and slowing demand from China for Australian resources will combine to flatten Aussie house prices.

Claiming that the rot will set in over the next couple of years, with a slow recovery not starting until 2016, he has urged investors who don’t plan to hold on to their properties for more than seven years to seriously consider selling.

Predicting “overvalued” and “speculative” capital cities would be the hardest hit, he claimed that the only winners from Australia’s property apocalypse will be the real estate agents making commissions on mortgagee sales.